BREAKING | Jordaan re-elected as Safa president, beating competition from Zungu

Danny Jordaan has been re-elected as South African Football Association (Safa) president after beating challenger Sandile Zungu during the elective congress at Vodaworld in Midrand on Saturday.

Election officials confirmed that Jordaan won by a convincing margin of 157 votes to the 82 of Zungu and this means Jordaan will be almost 80 years old if he stays for the duration of the four-year term at the helm.

Jordaan and Zungu went toe-to-toe in what turned out to be one of the most highly publicised Safa presidential elections in recent memory.

Jordaan, who has been president of Safa since 2013 when he replaced Kirsten Nematandani, faces the job of improving the organisation’s fortunes.

The outcome of the SAFA Elective Congress. Dr Danny Jordaan 157 votes Sandile Zungu 82 votes Dr Jordaan is re-elected as the SAFA President

In the lead-up to the elections, Jordaan did not give interviews, but he is going to be confronted with continuing calls to improve the fortunes of the organisation that has been riddled with instability.

At the end of the month, Bafana Bafana start the qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) with clashes against Guinea and Eritrea.

Jordaan and his new national executive committee (NEC) will have to make sure that coach Pitso Mosimane and his technical team are afforded adequate preparation.

Jordaan will now turn his attention to the courts in November, where he is facing allegations of fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud and theft involving more than R1.3m in Safa funds.

Zungu promised to transform South African football by restoring governance and integrity, getting things right at the grassroots level, and prioritising women’s and schools’ football.

Before the election, Safa said several delegates received death threats, intimidation and harassment, and they reported the matter to the police.